The new Leica Ivesta 3. Thanks to Martin Microscope for posting about this on fb--per them this is just the S9 series in a new shell and with a worse name.
This is frankly the laziest, ugliest design work I have seen in a stereo. It looks like it was generated with one click in some sort of cad software. It looks like when Chinese companies design a shell for a stereo microscope copying a major brand that they've changed the eyepiece configuration on enough that they can't copy the shell. Oddly specific yes but see exhibits A and B:
Yes, Leica is copying the direction of Chinese knockoff stereo visual design (and somehow doing it worse).
Leica has always had the ugliest stereos to be fair--not every model but many. Remember classics like the GZ4, nowadays almost always seen in a mustard yellow
The EZ4's clunky yet uncharming look (with optional growth to hide a camera that was underspecced before you bought it)
The excessively vertical cylindricality of the S7 and s9 series.
Or whatever the heck is going on with the A60
But you know what, all of them were at least interesting to gawk at and felt like some thought went into their look, and for every visual failure there's been a much nicer looking design. But this is really the worst.
Anyway those are my thoughts.
